Kentucky 7 Tennessee 24
Photo Credit: Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
Saturday was extremely exciting. Tennessee beat No. 11 Kentucky 24-7, for their 17th consecutive home win over the Wildcats. The Vols are now 32-2 in their last 34 meetings with the Kentucky. It was a joyous day on Rocky Top, as Tennessee surpassed the win total of last season, by improving to 5-5. I almost always favor the Vols, but I did pick Kentucky to win 24-17. The Vols surprised me and dominated from start to finish.
The teams exchanged punts on the first 3 possessions of the game, before a 19-yard field goal by Brent Cimaglia got the Vols on the board first. Kentucky missed a 51-yard field goal and Tennessee took over at their own 34-yard line. The drive began with Jarrett Guarantano completing a 25-yard pass to Josh Palmer, but the Vols would end up punting. With under 5 minutes remaining in the first half, the Vols regained possession after forcing the Wildcats into another punt. On the first play of this drive, Ty Chandler broke loose for a 29-yard run. Just 4 plays later, Guarantano found Tim Jordan for a 34-yard completion. Jordan ran it into the checkerboards from 3 yards out on the ensuing play.
The Vols had given themselves a 10-0 lead heading into halftime, but they weren't done yet. Kentucky received the ball with 2:05 left in the first half and lost a total of 7 yards on their next 3 plays. The Vols took over at their own 28-yard line with exactly 1 minute to go before halftime. An incompletion and a 2-yard gain on the first 2 plays did not look promising, but Ty Chandler's 14-yard run moved the chains and Tennessee called a timeout with 13 seconds left in the half. Then, Marquez Callaway hauled in a 17-yard pass with 6 seconds left. With the ball on the Kentucky 39-yard line, Guarantano heaved up a hail mary to end the half and Callaway came down with it! This gave the Vols all of the momentum heading into the second half. Their 14 points scored in the final 2:05 gave Tennessee a 17-0 halftime lead.
Early in the second half, Tennessee wide receiver Jordan Murphy produced an explosive play, gaining 59 yards on an end-around. The Vols would end up scoring on this drive, as Guarantano found a wide-open Dominick Wood-Anderson in the back of the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown pass. Later, Kentucky finally got on the board with a 19-yard touchdown pass, but this would be their only points of the day. The Wildcats lined up for a field goal on their next possession, but Shy Tuttle blocked it with his helmet. After this, there was a turnover on 5 of the next 6 possessions. Ty Chandler fumbled the ball away, before a strip sack by Darrell Taylor gave the ball back to Tennessee. Madre London came into the game and fumbled, but Marquill Osborne sealed the win with interceptions on back-to-back Kentucky possessions.
Ty Chandler carried the ball 16 times for 89 yards, while Tim Jordan recorded 63 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. Marquez Callaway hauled in 2 passes for 56 yards, while Tim Jordan's 2 receptions went for 41 yards. Jordan Murphy caught one pass for 38 yards. Darrell Taylor led the defense with 8 tackles, including his remarkable 4 sacks and a forced fumble. Daniel Bituli recorded 8 tackles, Micah Abernathy had 7 and Kyle Phillips made 6.
5 Takeaways
1. Tennessee's defense was dominant: The Vols held Kentucky to just 262 total yards, including a mere 77 rushing yards. Along with shutting down the SEC's leading rusher, Benny Snell, Tennessee shut down the Wildcats' passing game. Kentucky was forced into 3 turnovers, including 2 interceptions by Marquill Osborne. Darrell Taylor accounted for 4 of Tennessee's 5 sacks, becoming just the third player in Tennessee's history to record 4 sacks in a single game. The Vols took pressure off of the offense, by holding the 11th-ranked Wildcats to just 7 points on the day.
2. Guarantano continues to have success: During the win over Kentucky, Guarantano broke Tennessee's all-time record for most consecutive completions without an interception (144). I will never stop believing in Guarantano and he has shown that he is an elite quarterback when he has time to throw the ball. Imagine that. I felt very proud of him after the hail mary to end the first half. His reaction was one of pure joy and I was extremely happy for him. He earned that one. Guarantano finished with 197 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12-20 passing, with no interceptions.
3. Offensive line opened up holes: Tennessee passed for 197 yards and ran for 215. These 412 total yards of offense should be credited to the great play of the Vols' offensive line. Late in the first half, they allowed Ty Chandler to run for 14 yards on a third down. Without this conversion, the hail mary would have never happened. Also, the Vols only gave up 1 sack on the afternoon. Protecting Guarantano was a big part of the win.
4. A bowl game is becoming a reality: Tennessee now needs just 1 more win in order to secure a spot in a bowl game. Whether they defeat Missouri, Vanderbilt, or both, a bowl game would be monumental for the program. The team has been inconsistent and unpredictable at times this season, but I have faith they they can manage at least 1 more win.
5. Pruitt defeats his second ranked opponent: Jeremy Pruitt has led the Vols to wins over 2 ranked opponents in his first 10 games as Tennessee's head coach. It took the Vols' former coach, intern Butch Jones, 31 games to defeat his second ranked team. The fan base, players and everyone else associated with the program has bought into Pruitt's philosophy. He hasn't used catchy slogans. He's just focused on winning. This is the key to rebuilding a program and returning to national prominence.
